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Cat 3126

Discussion in 'Engines' started by ckw, Feb 19, 2007.

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  1. ckw, Feb 19, 2007
    #1
    ckw

    ckw New Member

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    Anyone out there running these engines?
  2. h.ogrady, Feb 19, 2007
    #2
    h.ogrady

    h.ogrady New Member

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    I personal do not own 3126's, however i know quite a bit about them. Do they have any problems?
  3. ckw, Feb 19, 2007
    #3
    ckw

    ckw New Member

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    I'm looking at making an offer on a Trojan 440 Express with these engines and do not have alot of knowledge about these motors (only had gas) so I thought this might be a good location to learn about these before I make an offer or run away.
    From reading the vee drive ZF gear boxes might be a bigger concern.
  4. Kevin, Feb 19, 2007
    #4
    Kevin

    Kevin YF Moderator

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    ckw, if you click the Search link in the forum header and type in 3126 you'll find a couple of threads that they've been mentioned in recently.
  5. SeaEric, Feb 19, 2007
    #5
    SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

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    What year 440 Trojan? That is key. I have personal knowledge. Eric
  6. ckw, Feb 20, 2007
    #6
    ckw

    ckw New Member

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    1996
    Broker claims they are the "updated" versions and they were replaced by Cat under warranty.
  7. SeaEric, Feb 20, 2007
    #7
    SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

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    I owned a 1996 Trojan 440 with Cat 3126's 420 HP. It was supposedly "updated" by Cat under warranty less than 100 hours previously. I sold the boat to a buyer who ran her quite frequently. At around 300 hours the engines started to smoke a bit and run a little rough. He called in a Cat dealer who declared the engines to be the problematic "soft block" aka "french block" engine. The final fix was to remove the engines from the boat and replace both blocks with remanufactured versions that had been bored and sleeved. In fairness to Cat, they did provide the reman blocks. This after many phone calls from me and the owner, who then paid the labor cost for the change over. Total was around $12K. The good thing that came out of this is that now, having been sleeved, these engines are rebuildable in the boat. From what I now understand, the above is the only acceptable update and fix for this problem.

    Perhaps someone else has more info on this, but this was my experience. Before buying a boat with these engines, I would have them thoroughly checked out by a Cat dealer to verify what they are. I'd also want to see all documentation on any and all updates to fully understand what was done and what if any extended warranty may be attached. The other option would be to shop for a different boat. The 440 Trojan is a great boat though.
  8. ckw, Feb 20, 2007
    #8
    ckw

    ckw New Member

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    Thanks for your reply's. This forum is a great source of information.

    Had a Cat dealer run the serial #'s and the motors were made in July, 1998 and the boat is a 1996, so they are not the original motors.

    Also found out they are made by Perkins, which Cat ownes.

    Cat is sending the original build/test sheet to me now.
  9. SeaEric, Feb 20, 2007
    #9
    SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

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    I would still have them surveyed by a Cat dealer mechanic. The last thing you need is to buy someone else's problem. Remember, that someday you're going to want to resell this boat and you will again be faced with this issue and possibly by the related stigma carried by the 3126's.
  10. ckw, Feb 20, 2007
    #10
    ckw

    ckw New Member

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    Your right about a stigma associated with these engines.
    Going to have the local Cat dealer look at them before buying.
    They (Cat) will not give out the service history unless your the owner.
    Little to protective to me.
    Only thing I can find out through the Cat network (without going to the servicing dealer) is they were "replacement engines under warrranty".
  11. CaptTom, Feb 20, 2007
    #11
    CaptTom

    CaptTom Senior Member

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    ckw,
    So, ask the current owner to get the info for you. If you tell him how to do it and who to call, he probably would ablige. If he doesn't want to do it, then there may be something he is hiding, and you should run away from the deal.
  12. TSI AV, Feb 21, 2007
    #12
    TSI AV

    TSI AV Senior Member

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    Hi,

    ckw,

    Some suggestion:

    Find someone, (not has to be a CAT dealer ;) ), who has a SIS, STW software by CAT. Search the i-net. I can't say more, ;)

    These are the programs, where You can trace every CAT- product by S/N...

    P.S. I never liked that yellow stuff... :mad:

    Good luck,
    Brgds,

    Andrei
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2007
  13. SeaEric, Mar 5, 2007
    #13
    SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

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    She sold

    It would appear that the 44 Trojan with the 3126 Cats that we were chatting about in this thread has sold. ckw, did you end up buying her after all?